A telecommunication network power system usually includes an ac-dc stage converting the power from the ac utility line to a 48V dc distribution bus. A conventional ac-dc stage may comprise a variety of EMI filters, a bridge rectifier formed by four diodes, a power factor correction circuit and an isolated dc/dc power converter. The bridge rectifier converts an ac voltage into a full-wave rectified dc voltage. Such a full-wave rectified dc voltage provides a dc input voltage for the power factor correction circuit. The power factor correction circuit may be implemented by employing a power converter including a boost converter. By employing an appropriate control circuit, the boost converter is capable of shaping the input line current to be sinusoidal and in phase with the sinusoidal input voltage of the ac input source. As a result, the power factor of the ac-dc stage may be close to unity as required by a variety of international standards (e.g., EU standard EN55022).
A boost converter may comprise an inductor coupled between the input voltage and a joint point of a switch and a diode. In the power management industry, the joint point of the switch and the diode is commonly referred to as the switching node of a power converter. In the boost converter, the switch is coupled between the switching node and ground. The diode is placed between the switching node and the output of the boost converter. As indicated by its name, a boost converter's output voltage is greater than its input voltage. When the switch is turned on, the inductor is charged from the input voltage through the turned on switch. At the same time, the diode is reverse-biased so that the output of the boost converter is isolated from the input of the boost converter. On the other hand, when the switch is turned off, the diode is forward-biased. As a result, the output of the boost converter receives energy from the charged inductor as well as the input voltage.
A telecommunication network power system may require a plurality of bulk capacitors to store energy. The plurality of bulk capacitors help to sustain the 48V distribution bus voltage for approximately 20 ms by discharging the energy stored in the bulk capacitors into the 48V distribution bus after a dropout of the input ac source. In a typical power system, the holdup time energy is stored in the bulk capacitors connected between the output of the ac/dc power stage and ground. During a dropout of the input ac source, the voltage across the bulk capacitors is discharged to sustain the operation of downstream power converters. In order to improve the telecommunication network power system's efficiency, high efficiency downstream power converters having a narrow input voltage range are employed to convert the output of the ac/dc power stage (approximately 400V) into the 48V distribution bus. Such a narrow input voltage causes the downstream power converters to use only a limited amount of energy stored in the bulk capacitors.